Background
Proval was born in Brooklyn, New York, of Jewish heritage, the son of Clara Katz, an actress from Bucharest, Romania.
Proval was born in Brooklyn, New York, of Jewish heritage, the son of Clara Katz, an actress from Bucharest, Romania.
He has appeared in such feature films as The Shawshank Redemption (1994),The Phantom (1996), Mob Queen (1998), Four Rooms (1995), Ultra high frequency (1989), Innocent Blood (1992), The Siege (1998), Bookies (2003), Balls of Fury (2007), had cameo appearances in The Brady Bunch Movie (1995) and Smokin" Aces (2006), and has had recurring roles in television shows such as Picket Fences, Boomtown and Everybody Loves Raymond. He appeared in the 14th episode of The West Wing - "Take This Sabbath Day" - as Toby Ziegler"s rabbi. In 1977 his voice was heard in the cult animated film WIZARDS, as the robot assassin Necron 99.
In 2004, he played both adult twin brothers James and Edward Talley in the Hallmark Channel original movie Murder Without Conviction.
Creator David Chase has also stated Proval was his original choice for the lead role of Tony Soprano which of course later wound up going to the late James Gandolfini on the Home Box Office hit show The Sopranos.
